May 25, 2013

Notes on Mysore Rooms, Mindfulness, Feminism, and Sex

tldr: Mysore rooms must be safe spaces. Teachers must ensure
that and are not supposed to look at their students in a sexual way. For
students, there’s no need to suffer through bad and inappropriate
adjustments. You can always just leave. Yoga is not a competition/
performance/ beauty contest.

Remember how I said I was going to tie in feminism and Yoga more?
Well, tonight’s assistant teacher training gave me my first cue: We
learned about how to act mindfully in the Mysore room. And while we
didn’t talk about the issue from a feminist perspective, I wanted to
give it some feminist thought.

Since a combination of factors makes Mysore rooms special places,
teachers and their assistants are responsible for making them safe
spaces. Safe spaces are spaces where you can let your guard down because
there is no need to fear discriminatory behaviour. They are a concept I
first came across in feminist writings. All Yoga rooms - not just
Mysore rooms - need to be made such safe spaces. This is not only because
certain poses might trigger memories of sexual violence or abuse, but
because these rooms work along power structures, too. We might or might
not have been aware of that, just like some of us might or might not
have been aware of the fact that they’re feeling uncomfortable in down
dog for a reason.

In any given Mysore room, everyone should be able to practice,
irrespective of their gender, skin colour, sexual orientation, body type
or ailments. We should be able to feel comfortable in our bodies
without having to fear even so much as a sexual thought coming
our way from teachers or assistants. This is important because thoughts
alone create energy - and I’m saying this in the least esoteric way
possible, maybe just think of ‘vibes’ instead. That energy will waft
through the room and affect its atmosphere, even when unintentional.
Similar to aggressive or competitive behaviour maybe, or a strong smell
that cannot be contained.

Traditional Ashtanga Yoga Mysore style is a very physical, sweaty
practice, that requires one-on-one attention and hands-on adjustments.
As someone once put it: “Assisting in a Mysore room is basically cattle
roping.” Lying on top of each other for relaxation at the end of a
practice is frequent
and generally desired. Physical contact is intense, and both male and
female assistants need to watch where they’re putting their stuff in
assists (*hint*: far away from student bums!). This does not just apply
to men: I have heard from many guys that they don’t like feeling female
pubic bones rub up their backs, either. And from personal experience I
can tell you that putting your chest onto strangers needs
some getting used to, too.

So as much as we might like to lead monk-y, chaste lifestyles and
think pure thoughts only, I doubt that this is the reality of what’s
going on most of the time. In fact, as I just learned tonight, the mind
is processing 30.000 automatic, involuntary thoughts every day. And we
all know those statistics about how often we think about sex. Veryoften.
So even when looking at half-naked people in a non-sexual way over
multiple hours seems like an impossible task for Yoga teachers and
assistants, they will have to make a conscious, concentrated effort.
Tough one! But as David put it in different contexts: “Yoga is not
supposed to be easy” and “your practice doesn’t end on the mat”, right?

Chances are that teachers and assistants will never hear the personal
back story of their students in intimate detail. Instead, they will
have to assume that what they are seeing in any given person is just the
proverbial tip of the iceberg. The tip of a rather disturbed iceberg,
really. “Never just assume that an adjustment is okay”, is how it our
workshop leader put it tonight.

When we think about it, how we approach people makes all the
difference. David likes to stress how important it is to be polite with
students. And politeness like that automatically respects certain
physical boundaries. As soon as these lines are crossed by teachers or
their assistants, we students have every right to defend ourselves. And
by defend I mean we can refuse adjustments, move our mats, or leave the
room altogether and report inappropriate behaviour to someone in charge.
There is no need to suffer through bad adjustments! If a teacher
touches your private parts, (s)he is supposed to apologize. If this
happens frequently, I would advise you to unroll your mat somewhere
else. Yoga is supposed to make us feel better about ourselves, not
worse.

Which leads me right to last point: It really doesn’t matter what
you wear to practice, as long as you feel comfortable in it. If you need
high-end sportswear to feel adequate, think about why that might be the
case. Surely, there’s nothing wrong with looking good and treating
yourself to nice equipment, but please don’t let others create fake
needs and silly standards you feel you have to live up to. Don’t even
worry about what they might think. It’s all in your head; in any decent
Mysore room, no one would even notice, let alone care. Yoga is no
competition, and Mysore rooms are certainly not catwalks. Every serious
practitioner of Yoga will agree on that. No need to wear make-up,
either. It will just melt away. And those heels that you’re wearing to
“improve” your posture… once you realize what they are doing to your leg
muscles, tendons and bone structure, you might want to consider getting
svelter legs by committing to a regular practice instead. A regular
practice in a well-attended to Mysore room where you will be welcome for
the no frills, sweaty awesomeness that you are.

Disclaimer

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States . Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.